Turk Telekom International and China Telecom Europe sign MoU

Turk Telekom International (TTI) and China Telecom Europe (CTE) have signed a long-term service cooperation agreement today in Istanbul during Capacity Eurasia 2014.

The move will see TTI help support the growing connectivity needs of Chinese enterprises operating in Turkey and the surrounding Central and Eastern European region.

At the same time, CTE will also help support the connectivity requirements of Turkish enterprises operating in China.

Speaking exclusively to Capacity, TTI CEO Cengiz Oztelcan identified the agreement as a major milestone for the company: "TTI has a very strong and robust network in Europe and the Middle East. Over the last few decades there has been a great growth of Chinese enterprises in this region, and through this cooperation, we plan to address their telecoms needs jointly," he said.

Building on a long-standing business partnership, the two companies began planning the MoU six months ago. TTI has since launched an office and established a virtual PoP in China.

CTE's operations in Turkey are also supported by a PoP it established in Istanbul several years ago. "The collaboration with TTI will further enhance the key benefits of our Euro-Asia network solution through leveraging TTI's regional resources," said Charlie Cao, MD of CTE.

Moving forward, Oztelcan hopes to leverage the partnership to explore further terrestrial connectivity options between Turkey and China. "We would like to make the "digital Silk Road" a reality, and truly establish connectivity between the two regions," he added.